No wonder China seems to be trying to cut off access to the global Internet.

Beijing blocked Bloomberg.com after the June 30 story on Xi Jinping’s family and six months later the site is still inaccessible in China. Terminal sales also dried up though there have been no reports of Bloomberg Professional access problems in China. Blocking the Bloomberg Professional network would be a very significant move given both the importance of Bloomberg machines to participation in global financial markets and the elite nature of terminal subscribers..

If any Western media organization is going to win a prize for its 2012 China reporting, Bloomberg has to be at the top of the list. But it certainly will not win the Confucius Prize.

Today’s Links:

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

Shanghai land plot is mainland’s costliest — Shanghai Daily– Land next to the north Bund area in Shanghai’s Hongkou District became the most expensive plot on China’s mainland this year when it sold at auction for 5.68 billion yuan (US$908.8 million) yesterday.The buyers for the plot, along Haimen Road, designated for offices and retail were Shanghai International Port (Group) Co and affiliate Wei Wang Property Development Co.

China Mulls Risk Warning Mechanism for Local Govnt Debt-Caijing – The Ministry of Finance is mulling a risk warning mechanism to raise awareness of risks in local government debt default, Chinese media reported. The minister Xie Xuren said last week that new local government borrowing should be strictly watched to protect it from morphing into a financial crisis.

China Construction Bank Accused of Misselling Fund, Daily Says- Bloomberg The savers, from Baicheng city in northeastern Jilin province, filed a complaint with the China Banking Regulatory Commission and the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the newspaper reported, citing one of the petitioners. The investors said they were misled by Construction Bank’s local staff into buying a fund known as Northeast Securities No.3, which required a minimum investment of 100,000 yuan, the newspaper said.

China May Expand Services for Migrant Workers, Securities Says – Bloomberg – as expected, Beijing likely to be exempt// A new Chinese urbanization plan will grant city residency to more migrant workers, according to the official Shanghai Securities News, potentially expanding basic rights to hundreds of millions of people. The plan will give migrants access to the household- registration system in cities where they live, giving them and their children access to services such as education, health care and pensions, according to the newspaper. “Mega-cities” such as Beijing and Shanghai may be exempt from the new policies, the newspaper said, citing unidentified government officials.

China consumers driving economic rebound: survey | Reuters – China’s consumers are leading an uneven recovery in the world’s second biggest economy that has retailers expecting stronger sales in six months, early results of a national survey showed on Wednesday. The China Beige Book survey of more than 2,000 executives revealed that the retail sector had the strongest revenue growth and business expectations in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Credit makes inroads on China forecourts – FT.com – In China, cash is still king at the car dealership. But many younger car buyers in the world’s largest auto market are rapidly taking on western habits – including using credit to buy a more expensive car than they could otherwise afford. Carmakers, both foreign and Chinese, are keen to encourage a more profligate attitude in a country whose financial conservatism sets it apart. Some have recently set up finance companies in the hope that credit will play the role in China that it plays in Europe and the US: boosting demand for their products.

China announces measures to cut logistics costs – Xinhua | English.news.cn– could help with food inflation, but how to break the local gangs that control much of the distribution chain?// The State Council, or China’s cabinet, on Wednesday announced a range of measures intended to cut logistics costs and improve efficiency.The measures include cheaper electricity and water use for those in the agricultural products’ processing and circulation sectors and lower administration fees at farm produce markets.

Quanzhou becomes pilot zone|Economy|chinadaily.com.cn – The city of Quanzhou in Fujian province has been approved as the third pilot financial reform zone in China, and will form a diversified and dynamic financial system to support the development of local enterprises over the next five years. According to the plan jointly released by 12 ministries on Tuesday, the pilot project aims to diversify local financial institutions, explore more innovation in financial products and provide capital backup for small businesses.

China rail: high speed from Beijing to Guangzhou opens | beyondbrics– The latest addition brings the total up to 9,300km according to Chinese state media. There’s a long way to go then, but the achievements thus far are impressive for their speed, reminiscent of the railway boom in Britain in the mid 19th century. The Chinese government approved plans for high speed rail only in 2004, with the first high speed line opening only in August 2008.Much like the British railway boom though, the danger is that haste to get the trains on the tracks comes ahead of safety measures to keep them there.

After an IPO Rush, a Factory Town’s Hangover – Caixin –who buys these crap IPOs, and which banks shovel them out?// It seemed the right thing to do in 2001 when officials in the factory city of Jinjiang opened a special office that actively encouraged local companies to list on stock markets. Jinjiang, population 2 million, is an important manufacturing base on the Fujian Province coast. Its economy relies on a diverse mix of garment and shoe factories, including several profitable makers of sportswear. City government policies promoted fund-raising on stock markets, both domestic and foreign. And over the past decade, dozens of companies responded. At last count, shares in at least 30 local companies were trading on bourses from Singapore to Frankfurt. Yet in pursuit of IPOs some companies sacrificed fiduciary integrity. Cash raised on stock markets spurred expansions that choked local industries with overcapacity. And some city officials gave more attention to boosting tax receipts than sustainable development.

El Reg man: Too bad, China – I was RIGHT about hoarding rare earths • The Register So this is where El Reg’s rare earths spiv gets to do the victory dance. That would be me then, bopping around the dance floor as only a middle aged white man can. For I’ve been saying for years now that this “China will control all the rare earths” thing is nonsense and so it has turned out to be: nonsense. Not that it hasn’t tried to control it all, mind, it’s just that it has failed. Failed for the reason we’d expect from communist state: its officials don’t understand free market economics. Specifically, it’s possible to successfully exercise monopoly power only if that monopoly is not contestable.

习近平:毛主席关于历史周期律谈话仍是警示【3】–新疆频道–人民网 – Xi references Mao Zedong and his warning about historical cycles in a talk with one of the non-Communist Parties// 民建中央主席陈昌智说，总书记对民建的历史非常了解，谈到了毛主席和黄炎培在延安窑洞关于历史周期律的一段对话，至今对中国共产党都是很好的鞭策和警示。

China bans forced confessions in investigations – Xinhua | English.news.cn– China has reiterated its ban on corporal punishment and forced self-incrimination in police investigations in a revised regulation on the handling of criminal cases.The revised regulation, released on Wednesday by the Ministry of Public Security, is aimed at helping courts adapt to the newly amended Criminal Procedure Law, which stresses “respecting and protecting human rights.”

长沙官员驾车撞死中学生找人顶包被免职_网易新闻中心 – another official brought down by Internet expose, this one in Changsha// 人民网长沙12月26日电 记者从长沙市岳麓区有关部门获悉，网络曝出12月17日“官员醉驾肇事顶包”案中的岳麓区招商合作局局长夏伟辉职务被免。

原包头中级人民法院院长挪用公款1.5亿 明码标价受贿卖官_新浪地产网 – Senior legal official in Baotou goes down for corruption, including selling official positions, and relations with female subordinates..corruption and specifically office selling has a long history in China// 近来，贪污受贿、包养情妇的贪腐官员相继落马，可谓大快人心，不过随着反腐的推进，这一根线似乎牵出的腐官越来越多，因为有新政策新领导人的支撑，曾受压迫的人开始站出来举报这些贪腐官员的恶行，从李春城到梁道行，单增德到雷政富无一漏网。近日，原包头中级人民法院院长张民滥用职权受贿、卖官敛财与属下多名女公务员暧昧信息也被曝光。据悉，张民涉嫌挪用1.5亿公款、滥用职权、敛财受贿、买官卖官、包养多名情妇等诸多腐败事迹。

铁道部贪腐案中间人罗金宝起落记_核心报道_新京报电子报 – Beijing news with some details of the corruption case of Ministry of Railways official Luo JInbao, whose trial started 12.24

China Scholars Demand Ruling Party Relax Its Grip on Government- Bloomberg A group of Chinese intellectuals wrote a letter demanding the Communist Party end Internet censorship and ease its grip on the courts, according to a copy posted on the blog of one of the signatories. The letter, signed by 71 people and posted on the blog of Peking University law professor Zhang Qianfan, calls for the party to end its oversight of government personnel decisions, leave court decisions to judges and lawyers, and allow people to speak and assemble freely. Zhang, who helped draft the letter, confirmed in a brief phone call that the letter was genuine.

China calls on Japan’s Abe to meet ‘half way’ to fix ties | South China Morning Post– China called on new Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday to meet Beijing “halfway” to try and improve relations that have been hurt by a debilitating territorial dispute.“We hope the new Japanese administration will meet the Chinese side halfway and make concrete efforts to overcome difficulties in bilateral relations,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters. She added such efforts were needed “so as to push bilateral relations back on to the normal track of development”.

Caught in a bind that threatens an Asian war nobody wants-Hugh White in Sydney Morning Herald– THIS is how wars usually start: with a steadily escalating stand-off over something intrinsically worthless. So don’t be too surprised if the US and Japan go to war with China next year over the uninhabited rocks that Japan calls the Senkakus and China calls the Diaoyu islands. And don’t assume the war would be contained and short.Of course we should all hope that common sense prevails.

人民日报-令人心碎的小镇（第一现场） – People’s daily sends a reporter to Webster, NY (site of firefighter shooting) to write about a “small town that breaks your heart”, and remind readers America has a lot of guns…top read story on People’s Daily Online right now...

US lambasts China for breaches of trade rules – Telegraph – China is still flouting World Trade Organisation rules 11 years after it first joined, misusing the complaints machinery for tit-for-tat retaliation, said US Trade Repesentative Ron Kirk. “China’s trade policies and practices in several specific areas cause particular concern for the United States,” said Mr Kirk in his year-end report to Congress.

Foreign IT giants pose security threat – Globaltimes.cn– During wartime, manipulation of a city’s network information system can cause disastrous consequences such as frequent traffic accidents, uncontrolled urban sewage, power breakdown, gas explosions and failure of medical systems.In recent years, Western countries have built up defenses to prevent Chinese IT enterprises from entering their domestic markets. In contrast, since reform and opening-up, China’s door seems open to every foreign IT enterprise who wants to enter. If we turn a blind eye to foreign IT enterprises such as IBM’s expansion, these firms may occupy most of our market by virtue of their advanced technology and monopolistic advantages.

Pentagon Preps Stealth Strike Force to Counter China | Danger Room | Wired.com– The U.S. military has begun a staged, five-year process that will see each of its three main stealth warplane types deployed to bases near China. When the deployments are complete in 2017, Air Force F-22s and B-2s and Marine Corps F-35s could all be within striking range of America’s biggest economic rival at the same time. With Beijing now testing its own radar-evading jet fighters — two different models, to be exact — the clock is counting down to a stealth warplane showdown over the Western Pacific.The gradual creation of the U.S. stealth strike force is an extension of the Pentagon’s much-touted “strategic pivot” to the Pacific region, and echoes the much faster formation, earlier this year, of a similar (but only partially stealthy) aerial armada in the Persian Gulf. That team of F-22s, non-stealthy F-15s and specialized “Bacon” radio-translator planes was clearly meant to deter a belligerent Iran, although the Pentagon denied it.

Will the US Pivot Trigger a New Regional Arms Race?– Some who fear that the US rebalancing toward Asia will stoke US-China rivalry also worry that it could lead to an arms race among countries in the region.But military expert Richard A. Bitzinger points out that Asian nations have been on a binge of arms buying, especially of highly advanced arms, for more than a decade. What remains to be seen is whether that trend will accelerate in worrisome and potentially destabilizing ways with America’s pivot…Certainly, Beijing could interpret US actions as an effort to contain China and to frustrate its national interests; that would only further accelerate the already rapid recent buildup of Chinese military power. Conversely, the need on the part of US friends and allies to hedge militarily against China will only grow in return. If such tit-for-tat arms acquisitions increase in quantity and, especially, quality, the end result could be very disquieting indeed.

Web China: Military liquor ban drops shares, cheered by netizens – Xinhua | English.news.cn– how much of the 2013 CCTV upfront was bought by liquor firms?// Many netizens have applauded the ban, as they believe it is a necessary step in cracking down on extravagant official expenditures. About 30,000 people have voiced support for the regulations on Sohu.com, a popular Chinese Internet portal.x “Besides the military officers, all government officials should be prohibited from drinking liquor during receptions and meetings,” said a netizen using the screenname “Wu Qiujun.”Some netizens believe the ban also challenges traditions, as the coming Spring Festival holiday is the peak season for liquor consumption and official receptions. Some have suggested that more regulations, such as disclosing reception expenses and banning TV ads for liquor, should be issued in order to break the extravagant reception tradition.

The Coming Collapse of China: 2012 Edition- By Gordon G. Chang | Foreign Policy– 12.29.2011. 4 days left, otherwise Chang wrong again…but will any pundit ever be held accountable for being wrong? and does anyone, other than bookers at Bloomberg TV and the Lehrer report, still listen to him?// And as for the existence of an opposition, the Soviet Union fell without much of one. In our substantially more volatile age, the Chinese government could dissolve like the autocracies in Tunisia and Egypt. As evident in this month’s “open revolt” in the village of Wukan in Guangdong province, people can organize themselves quickly — as they have so many times since the end of the 1980s. In any event, a well-oiled machine is no longer needed to bring down a regime in this age of leaderless revolution.Not long ago, everything was going well for the mandarins in Beijing. Now, nothing is. So, yes, my prediction was wrong. Instead of 2011, the mighty Communist Party of China will fall in 2012. Bet on it.

HONG KONG AND TAIWAN

J. Michael Cole: Taiwan’s Youth Fight for Democracy, Again – WSJ.com If the purchase is—as expected—approved by regulators, Mr. Tsai will control more than 45% of Taiwan’s newspaper market. Next year Mr. Tsai will also reportedly launch a new magazine, Media Plus, in cooperation with the Chinese Communist Party-affiliated Fujian Daily Group. Critics argue the Next Media deal puts too much power into one man’s hands. What’s more, Mr. Tsai’s co-investors all have major business interests in the mainland. This again raises the specter of self-censorship. Often accused of being politically apathetic, Taiwan’s youth were energized by the deal. Using social media with dazzling skill and originality, student groups, operating under the “Alliance Against Media Monsters,” launched two protests in late November that brought together 500 students from 37 universities nationwide.

“Horrible disaster” brewing in Taiwanese media sector – Index on Censorship During a event held for the Formosa Plastic Group’s employees, journalists asked William Wang about the takeover. He candidly responded that he believed China’s government would appreciate their acquisition of Next Media’s Taiwan operations. When seniors editors at Apple Daily — part of Next Media — asked in a joint conference with the future new owners of the group whether they would censor content in order to avoid irritating China, Koo and Wang said they would respect journalists’ professional judgment. But Tsai warned them: “You two shareholders [referring to Koo and Wang] should give it a second thought, because you’re going to do business in China. It’s hard to say what will happen. If something happens to you, don’t blame me for not warning you.” [The quote comes a report of the event published by United Daily News, in Chinese].

Want Want monopoly threatens democracy – Taipei Times the takeover of China Network Systems’ cable TV network by the Want Want China Times Group in September and — even more ominously — the purchase of the Next Media Group, which includes the Apple Daily, by the same Want Want group controlled by chairman Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明). This takeover would be alright if Tsai was a pro-democracy media magnate who respected the freedom of the press and journalistic and editorial independence. However, Tsai has not hesitated to display his support for the repressive rulers in Beijing and has time and again interfered in reporting and editing in the media under his control. The Committee to Protect Journalists and numerous other respected organizations have voiced concerns over the takeover. The problem is, that with these new purchases, the Want Want group controls about 50 percent of all printed and electronic media in Taiwan — a serious situation under even normal circumstances.

WeChat App Implicated at Trial of Pedophile in China–TechInAsia – The trial of a sexual predator in Guangdong province in southern China has implicated the smash-hit messaging app WeChat as the way that the man lured in underage boys. The accused, Li Jun, a former official at a Civil Affairs Bureau in the province, is said to have used WeChat – known in China as Weixin – to befriend and ‘groom’ 160 boys, some aged under 13, who were living nearby.

China Mobile, Tencent Spar Over WeChat 中国移动与腾讯就微信展开口水战 – It seems that Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo isn’t the only company worried about the rapid rise of WeChat, the wildly popular mobile social networking service (SNS) operated by leading Internet company Tencent (HKEx: 700). That’s my interpretation of the situation, following a recent war of words that has broken out between Tencent and China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL), China’s dominant mobile carrier. But in this new tussle, Tencent needs to move very carefully since China Mobile is not only a competitor but is also in the powerful position of being able to limit or even completely cut off its more than 700 million mobile subscribers from access to WeChat, more commonly known by its Chinese name of Weixin.

China’s Smartphone Sales Grow 189 million Units in 2012 » M.I.C. Gadget – Android smartphone market share in China has increased steadily, and is likely to reach 50.8 million units or 86 percent of total smartphones sales in the fourth quarter of 2012. In light of the growing importance of China’s smartphone market, Lenovo is expected to rank as one of the top-10 smartphone vendors globally in 2012, in addition to Huawei and ZTE.

Amid Tensions Between China and Vietnam, Video Games Get Territorial – The multiplayer online RPG game, Chinh Do 2.0 (ZT Online 2, in English), made by China’s Giant Interactive (NYSE:GA), has been distributed by VNG since 2008. Over the years, the game was updated many times – but the latest update on December 16th revealed an update that irked many users, which eventually lead to the game being taken down. VNG has since discontinued the game and cut ties with Giant Interactive. The website that once hosted Chinh Do 2.0 now has an announcement from VNG about the discontinuation and a statement that VNG, as a Vietnamese company, will faithfully uphold Vietnamese sovereignty.

How Does Douban Make Money?–Technode – valuation in last round extremely high, so high high in fact that have heard it is one of the deals that has caused Trustbridge some heartburn// Willingly or not, Douban, the interest-based social network, disclosed some metrics that it would rather not to, if news didn’t break out that several core engineers left in September. It turned out those employees were off to start up their own business, but the seeming public relations crisis forced Douban management to project a number for revenues in 2012, to quiet the media. 80 million yuan ($13mn) doesn’t sound a big number but a OK one since people always doubted Douban could make any money at all.

Mainland welcomes cross-Strait baseball league proposal – Xinhua | English.news.cn– imagine the new betting scandals that would arise// Fan Liqing, spokeswoman for the State Council’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said the mainland is willing to increase cooperation and exchanges on athletics with Taiwan, where baseball has a longer development history.Fan made the remarks at a regular press conference, when she was invited to comment on the proposal put forward by people from Taiwan’s sports circle.

LSE Review of Books Podcast: China: Home and Away (Episode 6) We take a walk through London’s Chinatown with Rosemary Sales and Xia Lin, Researchers at Middlesex University, to discuss the complex of identities in the area and meanings of home for Chinese immigrants. John Gittings, Research Associate at the School of Oriental and African, talks about China’s early peace philosophers and the importance of engaging the country in diplomacy. Ting Xu, Research Fellow at LSE’s economic history department, speaks about growing up in China in the wake of the Cultural Revolution and how her parent’s boundless passion for books was a source of inspiration.

ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH

Sinopec, CONOCO to Cooperate in Shale Gas Research in China’s Sichuan-Caijing – A subsidiary of China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec Corp, has inked a deal with oil giant Conoco’s China unit on research of a shale gas block in Sichuan Basin, a lowland region in southwestern China, for future exploration and production, according to a statement published on Sinopec’s website. The Qijiang block, located in the southeastern region of Sichuan province, was about 4,000 square kilometers. Exploration in the block faces difficulties including remarkable depth of the buried layer and geological complexity, the statement said.

FOOD AND TRAVEL

China: loving the Bordeaux | beyondbrics– Demand for Bordeaux in China is going through the roof, and makes up for slacking demand at home. Indeed, France, sales decreased by 2 per cent this year. But for every bottle Chinese consumers bought ten years ago, they buy 100 today.“It’s an extraordinary development,” Georges Haussalter, the president of the trade associatied CIVB said. One out of every four export bottles of Bordeaux is now sold to the Chinese and Hong Kong consumers – an astonishing number.

Christmas Eve in Beijing 北京平安之夜 | The China Story– The announcement is similar to a Xinhua report about traffic on Christmas eve in Beijing that was widely republished by news portals and in newspapers:Some areas in Beijing may experience peak-hour traffic conditions up until midnight. Commercial districts, bar streets, places with a concentration of entertainment and dining venues and areas around some churches may experience traffic jams. The Beijing Public Secruity Bureau announced forecast peak-traffic conditions from 4pm on 24 December. Such conditions may last a a long time, as late as 11pm in areas with concentrations of bars and restaurants. (Source: 北京圣诞交通晚高峰将明显延长.) Normal levels of evening congestion were expected for Boxing Day, 26 December, Mao Zedong’s birthday.